Time passed slowly as they continued driving. The sky was completely black. Whether it was 8 pm or midnight, neither one knew. More importantly they didn't care. The longer they drove meant the farther away they got from the city, but it meant more time together. They didn't talk much, just absorbed the essence of each other, attempting to keep each other warm. Because they knew the truck couldn't drive forever. Eventually it would stop, and they would be pulled apart, and the unspeakable would happen.
Reid moved as close to her as he could. "How do you feel?" He asked.
"I'm tired," she murmured. "And cold. I wish we could just sleep."
"I know," he replied, wishing he could wrap her in his arms. "I doubt we have much longer." He pressed his lips against her cheek. "I want you to promise me something,"
"What?" she asked, her fingers still active on the back of his head.
"It's going to be hard for him to control both of us." He said softly. "I'm not sure… how much fight I have in me, but I don't intend on making this easy for him…" he breathed a few times. Riley savored the feel of his hot breath on her chilled skin. "If you can get away… promise me, you'll run."
"Spencer… I'm not going to leave you." She exclaimed, her voice quiet and hoarse. She couldn't believe he was suggesting this.
"Yes, you are," He corrected.
"But he'll still kill you. There's no way I can get help in time." She started crying. Reid felt the tears on his lips. "You'll die."
"But you'll live," Reid explained. "And that's all that matters to me."
Riley sniffled, shaking her head. "I won't do it. I won't leave you."
The truck began to slow down. They had a minute, maybe more, before he interrupted them. Reid's hands slipped onto her back, pulling her against him. He kept his tears locked behind his eyelids as he continued.
"Riley, if you love me, you'll do what I ask." He demanded. She wouldn't reply. He opened his eyes, looking directly into hers. "Promise me."
"Not fair," she sobbed, her eyes shinning.
"Promise me," He demanded.
A long silence. Her tears continued falling; finally she exhaled, "I promise."
He kissed her lips again. It was quick. He rested his brow to hers, hearing the sound of the door slam. A moment later, the tailgate sounded at their feet.
"Oh this is so sweet," the familiar voice belonging to Engles said, seeing them together. "Like two sparrows in a hurricane."
Neither one said anything. They could feel Engles pull himself onto the back. They stared into each others eyes, simultaneously thinking This is it.
A moment later, the shadowy form of Engles appeared. His first move was towards Riley. Gently, he seemed to check her over. Reid's stomach twisted with anger. He didn't like this monster putting his hands on her. "Leave her alone," He muttered, beginning to summon whatever power remained in him.
"Oh good, you're awake," Engles said, almost kindly. "I was afraid you might have lost too much blood and die before we got there."
He sounded genuinely considerate about it. Riley was still close enough to Reid, he could feel her shaking. "Why are you doing this to us?" She demanded.
Reid could barely make out his face, but to him it seemed both kind and confused. "I'm doing this for you, Riley. For both of you."
"We understand," Reid said, though he knew reasoning with this man would be futile. "You did what you thought was right. But… we're not suffering."
"You're suffering without each other." He explained. "Her sickness is caused by your separation. By stress and agony. There's no stopping that. I must put her to rest so her soul will be at peace."
"Then let him go," Riley whimpered, still sobbing, "Please let him go. He doesn't know where we are, he didn't do anything. He doesn't deserve this."
"He'll suffer without you," Engles explained. "I remember that day, in the hospital, how protective he was of you. I know he'll never survive without you… so I'm putting him to rest with you. Now… you must come."
He began pulling at her, to come out of the truck. Riley resisted, struggling against him. With a quick swipe of his hand, he knocked across the face, directly over her bruise. She winced, whimpering in pain. Furious, Reid tried to sit up, "Don't you-"
Engles whipped out his gun, pointing it at her undamaged temple. "I have to do this," Engles explained. "Believe me, I am not above torturing either of you to make this happen. And I'm predicting just me torturing her would be worse than any physical damage I could do to you. So either you shut up and do what I say or you can feel your lover's brains when I put a bullet through her skull-"
"Alright," Reid cried, sitting up.
Engles smiled, lowering the gun. "This is for the best, you'll see. When it's all over and your souls are at peace. Now… get out of the truck."
Reid met Riley's eyes, sharing a gaze with her until Engles dragged her away. Mustering his strength, Reid followed. He eased his aching body off the tailgate into the night.
Riley was having trouble putting weight on her bad leg. When she tried, blood began to seep from the wound. She stumbled, falling onto her knees.
"Stand up," Engles demanded, grabbing her arm and pulling her up. The gentle man seemed to have vanished.
Reid made it over to her as she finally managed to stand. "Walk," Engles said, pointing forward with his gun. The mixture of broken clouds in the sky mixed with hundreds of stars and a full moon. The moonlight illuminated a small path before them, miles and miles of woods. They had parked some distance from the road. No one would notice the truck this deep in, and he wanted them to move further.
"Walk," Engles said louder, forcing the gun into Riley's back. She flexed away from the muzzle, beginning to move. Reid followed, walking just a step behind her, an attempt to put a shield between his love and their murderer.
…
From half a mile away, they could see the flashing lights of the police cars. Morgan, JJ, and Emily were on their way from the hospital to sight of the accident. None could believe they'd actually missed this before.
Crossing the grassy divide, they made it to the scene. Each one got out of the car, quickly spotting Detective Novak off to the side.
"You're absolutely sure it's their car?" Morgan asked, still in disbelief.
To everyone's surprise, Novak's icy attitude to the agents had dispersed. "Yeah, we're certain. We matched the license plate." she said, leading them over to the car. She shined a flashlight to the ground leading away from the car. "Drag marks, from the driver's side. We found this." She reached into her pocket, extracting a billfold.
Morgan took it from her. His anger rose to the surface as he realized, "It's Reid's badge."
"It must have fallen out when he was dragged from the car." JJ said, taking the badge delicately in her fingers.
"There are only drag marks from this side, though." Emily said, carefully walking around the crime scene. "Footprints, two sets of them… can I see your light, Detective," She asked. Novak quickly handed it over. Emily flashed the beam down. "There's blood drops around one set… and along the drag marks."
"Okay, so Reid must have been knocked unconscious from the crash." Morgan realized, reading what he could from the evidence.
"Riley must have been lucid enough to walk, but she was injured. She probably couldn't fight back."
"More likely," Morgan corrected. "He threatened to kill Reid if she didn't go. Promises he'll leave him behind or spare him if she goes. Ties her up, she's now submissive. He then goes back on his word."
"Okay, we know that Engles is not in his car," JJ said. "Another intern said Engles asked to borrow his truck."
"License plate 313 – DCT?" Novak asked.
All three were amazed. "How do you know that?" Emily asked.
Novak went to a nearby police car to fetch something. Returning, she handed them a plastic evidence bag, inside a license plate with the same serial numbers.
"Damn," Emily cried, taking the plate. "He removed it before he left the scene."
"He probably figures at this point, we already know who he is." Morgan said, keeping his anger down. "There's no point in staying under the radar."
"Okay, so, what do we do?" Novak asked. No one answered her. Each one looking lost, unsure "Come on, this is supposed to be your expertise. What should we do?"
"We don't know." Emily said, unsure.
"How can you not know? Look… I'm sorry I didn't want to listen before. But I realize, we're out of our element here, now… come on, what do we do?"
"Detective, this isn't about you or your competence." Morgan explained. "I'm pleased you're willing to help now, we need all the help we can get. Now, you have to give us a chance to find more evidence. Right now, all we know is our friends are severely injured and will probably be dead before sunrise… if they're not already."
Novak nodded, at last understanding. "I'm sorry," she said. "What do you need me to do?"
At that moment, another SUV was seen coming down the highway. It joined the chaos of cars and lights, delivering agents Rossi and Hotchner to the scene. They came over quickly, joining their team.
"What did you find?" Rossi asked.
"They're injured. Reid more than Riley," Emily explained. "Engles is driving in an unmarked, unlicensed yellow pickup truck. We have no idea where he could have gone."
"Okay, we don't have much time," Hotch stated. "Emily, you and Morgan, I want you to go and speak to Linda Engles. I don't care how late it is, she has to have some idea where her son might have gone. Detective Novak, I need you and your partner to go the hospital and look through anything connected to Engles. Locker, work area, and anything out of the ordinary that he was working on today. All of Seattle PD is on the lookout for Engles and the vehicle. Rossi and I are going to join the search. JJ, set up an immediate press conference. Tell the public to watch out for anyone matching Engles', Reid's or Riley's descriptions. Use their names, get their pictures out there."
"Sir, do you think it's a good idea? Using Engles' name?" Emily asked. "The public already knows about Maria."
"We're at desperate measures." Hotch said. "Let's move."
The group set off, each to pursue their assignments. JJ told her friends she'd get a ride back to the station with one of the officers, leaving Morgan and Emily alone. They got back in their car, heading for the home of Linda Engles."
"Morgan," Emily said as he pulled onto the road. "Do you ever get the feeling a case isn't going to end well?"
"Prentiss," he mumbled through gritted teeth, not wanting to get angry with her. Taking a deep breath, he continued. "I can't think about it. We have to focus."
Emily agreed, but she couldn't shake the feeling. They'd work these cases before… and rarely did they ever make it in time.
